Editorial: Monday briefing, May 20, 2013

Posted: May 19, 2013 - 6:14pm

AGN Editorial

Animal magnetism

It shouldn’t surprise us that the scandal plaguing the Internal Revenue Service is expanding.

An email from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, landed in our inbox last week, alleging the IRS also targeted PETA for “three baseless audits,” similar to how the IRS admittedly treated some conservative organizations.

According to a recent letter PETA sent to the Department of the Treasury, “targeted misconduct” by the IRS against PETA — dating all the way back to 1990 — warrants inclusion of this allegation in any investigation of IRS practices.

Who knows if the IRS was trying to tame PETA, but considering these allegations stretch all the way to 1990 (the first audit PETA questions was from 1990 to 1992), it certainly begs the question of what took so long for PETA to get angry?

Unfortunately, we predict many more groups and organizations will jump on the anti-IRS bandwagon, alleging some sort of bias.

Maybe the IRS deserves it.

A hero’s welcome

Those who know Amarillo’s Jack Barnes know that the American Fallen Warrior Memorial Foundation picked the perfect person to honor heroes.

The tireless Barnes, former co-founder, CEO and president of the Texas Panhandle chapter of America Supports You Texas was recently named president of the foundation — an organization that would seem to be the perfect fit for Barnes.

The former AGN Media headliner award winner/Navy chief petty officer/Amarillo ISD teacher has made it his calling to honor those Americans who sacrifice for their country, and his new role with the foundation will only expand this commitment.

Barnes was an integral part of several World War II honor flights with his former group, not to mention countless other projects honoring and serving members of the U.S. military.

His new goal?

Barnes will be helping the foundation raise $30 million for a memorial in Kansas City, Kan., honoring those Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Thirty million is quite a chunk of change — but our money is on Barnes being able to get it done.

Don’t ask, don’t tell — don’t care

In a perfect world, there would be a perfect solution to the needless controversy surrounding the Boy Scouts of America.

Sexuality — gay or straight — would never be a topic for the group.

Fortunately, sexuality is not a major issue for the group, but — unfortunately — the topic has been forced upon it by those with a social agenda that has nothing to do with the group or its objectives.

The BSA is scheduled to vote Thursday on a policy prohibiting homosexual scouts — a vote that will be and has been major news for weeks.

Wouldn’t it be nice if issues of sexuality, regardless of preference, were left out of scouting — sort of a more appropriate version of “don’t ask, don’t tell?”

The group, after all, is about children and youth — not sex.

Unfortunately, it seems even scouting cannot be immune from the invasive aspects of today’s society.

And that is probably more an indictment of where America is as a nation than anything else.